23 March 2007

I managed to stumble on this video during my forays into Internet today, and I must say that at first I found it hilarious. Here are two lanky-as-hell white boys from Boulder with a great video clip and a great name. They make no pretenses about how tough they are or where they are from; the name of the group is 3oh!3, referencing the distinguished area code of Denver/Boulder, and they lay down some pretty sweet beats. Yet even with the tongue-in-cheek references "You a punk bitch if you don't know 'bout Boulder," they aren't just two comedians making white-boy hip-hop (unlike a certain hip-hop supergroup I was a member of in high school; shout out to White Man's Burden). The song "Holler Till You Pass Out," sounds just as good and/or better than the majority of the radio hip-hop singles I hear (which, granted, is pretty much limited to riding in cars with my friends and or high school dances). Nevertheless, it is some quality stuff, the beats are good, the rhymes tight, and the lyrical wordplay, while not on the level of an Eminem or The Streets or Hova, is enough to carry the incredibly catchy chorus. The video is also great, with the guys playing faculty members at presumably a middle school, who act like Bill Murray in Rushmore, blocking shots and, in a particularly memorable game of Telephone, blowing smoke in a kid's face. All in all, this duo, despite clowing around a bit, are genuinely talented musicians who are able to mix samples, beats, and instruments into catchy songs that are just plain fun. Also, be sure to check out the sweet shirts including the Denver Gang Sign shirt and the infamous wolf shirt.